Some of you have already noticed the Fantasy Cricket link on the navbar. That heralds the completion of the game so now it's time to start using it. You may create a game if you want to score the game or just participate as a Manager by submitting a team to a game that has been created. To kick it off I've created a one match game for the 4th Test between West Indies and South Africa which starts on the 29th. When you get to the Fantasy Cricket home page click the icon to register your team. Up until the cut-off date (28th) you can go back and edit your team if you wish. You can't view any other teams until the cut-off date has passed and the registrations are closed. Once the Match Report has been scored by the game creator your points and ranking will be displayed on the viewgame page.

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Administrator

Good work on this over all. Well done guys.

Thanks Zainub. Glad the thing is finished and the fun can begin.

I have added two players to the game because it has been announced that Ryan Hinds and Reon King have been dropped for the match. There replacements are Narsingh Deonarine and Tino Best. If you have selected Ryan Hinds or Reon King as a main player or reserve then you need to edit your team. I have put Narsingh Deonarine in the list of all-rounders and Tino Best in the list of bowlers. The system doesn't allow me to remove players once the game is created but it does allow me to add players.

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Administrator

South Africa

AB de Villiers
*GC Smith
HH Dippenaar
JH Kallis
HH Gibbs
AG Prince,
+MV Boucher,
N Boje,
M Zondeki,
M Ntini,
SM Pollock.

West Indies

CH Gayle,
WW Hinds,
RR Sarwan,
BC Lara,
*S Chanderpaul,
N Deonarine,
DJJ Bravo,
+CO Browne,
DB Powell,
DM Washington,
TL Best.

Team changes:

Andy Mellon:
OUT: Andre Nel
IN: Dwight Washington

Ernest:
OUT: Jacques Rudolf, Andre Nel, Fidel Edwards
IN: Chris Gayle, Daren Powell, No third reserve available to replace Fidel Edwards.
Bonus 1: Jacques Rudolf replaced by Chris Gayle

Occasional Fan:
OUT: Jacques Rudolf, Andre Nel, Fidel Edwards
IN: Beta Dippenaar, Monde Zondeki
Bonus 3: Andre Nel replaced by Monde Zondeki

Paoli69:
OUT: Andre Nel
IN: Tino Best

Pete:
OUT: Andre Nel, Pedro Collins
IN: Dwight Washington, Monde Zondeki

Richard Jenkins:
OUT: Jacques Rudolf, Fidel Edwards, Pedreo Collins
IN: Daren Powell, Dwight Washington
No Bonus 4 player selected.

SirAdrian:
OUT: Andrew Hall, Andre Nel, Charl Langeveldt
IN: Jacques Kallis, Shaun Pollock, Monde Zondeki

Zainub Razvi:
OUT: Andre Nel
IN: No reserve available to replace Andre Nel.

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Administrator

Looks like everyone was caught out by Nel's omission from the South African team. The result of the game could hinge on who picked the best-scoring reserve. Here are the standings after scoring South Africa's 1st innings:

Pete looks to be in the box seat, though, for a victory with Chris Gayle selected for bonus points. Other Managers that have selected Gayle are Ernest and Richard so a top 3 placing is still a possibility for them.

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Administrator

Well, the rankings have changed dramatically after adjusting the points for Chris Gayle's huge innings. Pete and SirAdrian have put a gap between themselves and the competition. Ernest and Richard have leapt from the bottom to be a chance for a Top 3 finish. The Managers below them have been disadvantaged by not picking Gayle and picking Lara as Captain to receive double points. Unfortunately, that has probably cost them any chance of winning or placing.

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Administrator

Well, I've added the centuries of Sarwan, Chanderpaul and Bravo to the match report and Pete looks to have a tight grip on the top spot. The "comeback kid" Richard has now overhauled Ernest for third. The match is finished so I'll finish the scoring tonight. I can't see the remaining scores effecting the current standings too much but you never know.

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Administrator

Congratulations to the winner, Pete ahead of SirAdrian, and Andy Mellon. Good comeback by Andy to leapfrog Ernest into third place.

What I'd like to know is how SirAdrian finished 2nd when his knowledge of cricket is miniscule? Hopefully, I can find an answer when I analyze the teams in the post-mortem.

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Administrator

Congrats to the winners, and better luck next time to all the rest of us

Better luck next time Zainub. This was not a match for the bowlers. Here are the points for the bowlers selected:
Some Managers selected bowlers to receive bonus points which wasn't a good idea on this world-renowned featherbed. 20 Test matches have been played on the Antigua ground and 50% (10) have been drawn. Only 9 matches have produced 4 innings. Other renowned featherbeds are:

Antigua Recreation Ground, St John's, Antigua, West Indies
Adelaide Oval, Adelaide, Australia
Galle International Stadium, Galle, Si Lanka
Sinhalese Sports Club Ground, Colombo, Sri Lanka
Kensington Oval, Bridgetown, Barbados, West Indies

Select bowlers to receive bonus points on these grounds at your peril.

Most Managers required reserves mainly to replace bowlers so the only Managers to significantly benefit from reserves was Ernest and SirAdrian.

Ernest:
Chris Gayle 354
Daren Powell 20
No third reserve available to replace Fidel Edwards.
Bonus 1: Jacques Rudolf replaced by Chris Gayle

SirAdrian:
Jacques Kallis 128
Shaun Pollock 6
Monde Zondeki 36

Without a doubt, the biggest factor that effected the rankings was the lack of points from Lara and 4 Managers chose him as Captain to receive double points. Those who chose Lara finished out of the placings.

Chosen Captains:

Brian Lara: Paoli69, Occasional Fan, Zainub Razvi, Ernest
AB de Villiers: Andy Mellon, SirAdrian
Herschelle Gibbs: Richard Jenkins
Jacques Kallis: Pete

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Administrator